Loving Cups

A Loving cup used by early Methodists in an act of communal worship known as a ‘Love-Feast’.

The drink in the cup would probably have been milk or maybe water. This cup was so precious to someone that when it broke they had it mended – you can see the lead staple holding a crack together.

The sharing of a drink was an act of trust which bound the early Methodists together as a family. The idea was that you took a sip and then passed it onto the person next to you.

THE SHOCK CUP

Possible reasons for the ‘shock’ found in the bottom of this cup could be to frighten heavy drinkers, a practical joke or to copy the idea of he medicinal use of a small creature in a drink as a ‘cure’ (“to doctor a drink”)